A burst of gunfire exploded in the center of the city, and at that time, in the high-class dining room of the battleship "Sedlindsburg", the expressions of the five people at the table appeared to be in stark contrast: the two arrogant Norman dignitaries seemed to be completely unaffected, the defectors from the Grumman family looked a little panicked, the courteous prisoners showed a look of relief and pride, and the Norman general with a special status had a deep and complicated expression.

The duration of the gunfire explosion was very short, and Prince Barras, who had been silent until now, wiped his lips with great grace and spoke in a rather magnetic-sounding voice: "War, in the final analysis, is a collision of national wills. A few handfuls of sand grains can't be built into a majestic seawall! ”

This is spoken in fluent Ulster, and the expression of sand and seawall is a well-known proverb of the Ulster Free Federation. This is a small detail that shows how thoroughly the Norman rulers studied the imaginary enemy, while the Free Commonwealth, from top to bottom, was silent about the Norman Empire. Before the war began, the effects of subjective attitudes were revealed.

Nikolai did not shy away from facing the other and responded with sonorous words: "We also have a proverb - even if it is as strong as night and cold, it can only rule the world temporarily, and when dawn and spring come, they must all obediently get out!" ”

The Norman prince in front of him has handsome facial features that can be called fantastic. Among the Norman cadets who visited the Batton Military Academy, even if he deliberately concealed it, his appearance and temperament were still as attractive as bright stars, and the Bathton cadets of the same sex had only envy, jealousy and hatred for this. He raised his chin slightly, raised the corners of his mouth, and said with a smirk: "We are neither dark nor cold, and we have never intended to rule every inch of this world, or to make everyone on this planet submit to our feet, or to gather all our riches into our treasury. In fact, only an arrogant and ignorant person would have such unrealistic ideas. Our pursuit is to eliminate the estrangement between countries, and no longer let the limited resources be wasted on mutual defense and competition to expand the armed forces, but to use them in the development of science and technology, medical care, education, and basic living facilities. In view of the fact that political and diplomatic means simply cannot achieve this grand pursuit, we have opted for the use of force. ”

When Prince Barras said this, his eyes flashed with a vision of goodness, but instead of being assimilated by him, Nikolai sneered: "This is the most gorgeous and hypocritical pretext for war I have ever heard." ”

Alves, who was sitting next to Barras, immediately glared angrily and let out a lion-like roar: "Presumptuous! ”

Although Barras put away the relaxed and confident expression just now, there was still no trace of gloom on his face, he supported his chin with his right hand, his eyes were level with the front, and his eyes were focused on Nikolai's heroic face: "According to our observations, President Lebold is one of the most outstanding statesmen of the Ulster Free Federation in the last hundred years, and many of his ideas are consistent with what we envisioned, but unfortunately, these ideas are either not understood and supported, or they deviate from the original direction in the process of implementation, otherwise, I am sure that the federal army will not be as weak as it is now. Moreover, we regret that President Lebold's excellent political acumen does not seem to have been inherited by his children, the eldest son became a fairly good fleet commander, and the eldest and second daughters married into wives and lived a privileged and ordinary life, as for the youngest daughter...... An unruly rebellious character and a bold hero, he may be a trailblazer in the new field of flight, but he is definitely not a political successor. ”

Ballas's words made Nikolai's face change several times. There is a way that it is difficult for a clean official to decide family affairs, even if he has sharp teeth, it is difficult to justify it at this time.

Seeing Nicholas's embarrassment, the Norman prince did not show contempt or disparagement, nor did he put on a posture of unforgiveness, but started with a dish on the table, turning the topic to the differences in cultural customs between the Norman Empire and the Ulster Free Commonwealth.

"As far as I know, most of the inhabitants of the Federation have never seen the sea from life to death, and they rarely have the opportunity to taste fresh red squid. This saltwater creature usually only survives for a few hours away from the deep sea. The reason why we can eat the authentic red squid in sauce here is because of a traditional secret technique of the Wessex people. To put it simply, the freshly caught red squid is put into a clay pot made of seabed mud, filled with seawater, and placed in an environment close to freezing temperature, so that the red squid inside will temporarily enter a special dormant state, so that it can survive for a few weeks or even longer. Not only does Ballas speak Ulster fluently and purely, but he also has the right phrasing and embellishment, showing his depth of knowledge of the language.

Nikolai did not turn down this relatively rare and somewhat primitive dish, but her attention was clearly not focused on the food itself. After Barras finished introducing herself with a polite gesture, she looked up and asked, "I'm curious, who taught your Ulster?" ”

"A full-time court language teacher." The Norman prince gave an answer that yes equals nothing.

"What about you? Your Excellency Sedlintz? Nikolai threw the question to Alves.

Apparently out of some kind of court etiquette, Alves would never intervene when Barras was talking to someone, unless the other party intentionally or unintentionally offended His Royal Highness the Norman Prince. Now Nikolai asked himself, and he first looked at Barras's face, and then replied in Ulster: "First of all, Miss Leiboyd, you are here, on the flying battleship of the Norman Empire, as our special guest, you should call me His Excellency the Marquis General Sedrinz, so that it is appropriate." Secondly, by royal grace, the education I received from childhood was basically with His Royal Highness Prince Barras, that is to say, his language teacher was my language teacher. ”

I thought that these two prominent Norman magnates would tell each other frankly, but I didn't expect it to be so perfunctory, and there was no so-called aristocratic demeanor at all, Nikolai couldn't help frowning. At this point, Ballas said, "I don't know why Miss Leibold is so curious about our language teachers, but I think I can grant your wish—in fact, since you, like the vast majority of the citizens of the Federation, have a deep prejudice against us in the Norman Empire, we are ready to arrange for you and some other members of the Federation to form a tour of the Norman Empire, and I believe that what you have seen and experienced with your own eyes will correct your prejudices all along." For this, our loyal and brave Baron alla Scala should be the most vocal. ”

Named by Prince Barras, the man, who pretended to be a Norman nobleman, said in Ulster, with a local accent from Lorraine, "Yes, for a long time, all walks of life in the Confederation were prejudiced against the Norman Empire, especially after the last war, and things about the Norman Empire became a taboo subject, which in itself is very abnormal. When you get to the Norman Empire, you will find that this monarchy is far more equal and just than the Free Commonwealth in many ways, not only militarily, but also more dynamic in healthcare, culture, education, and technology. ”

"Looks like I can't say no." Nikolai said, looking at Prince Barras.

After switching modes of communication, the Norman prince spoke clearly and fluently, but every time he spoke, he must have a relatively short thought process, as if he was a calm and confident character.

"As a captured soldier, it has been normal since ancient times to lose relative freedom for a certain period of time. You don't have to worry about us taking you off, we'll send you back to your family in a proper way when the tour is over. ”

Nikolai suddenly said in a cold tone: "Don't be clever and think that by capturing me, you can coerce my father in some way, and don't try to use me to ruin my father's reputation—I'd rather die than let you succeed!" ”

Ballas was stunned for a moment, then laughed. After laughing, he turned to Alves and said, "After four hundred years of glorious Norman Empire, the most basic demeanor and heart are still there, how can it be possible to use a lady's life to coerce her father, this is not a tactical strategy, but a despicable and shameless act." ”

Alves replied with a smile: "To have such thoughts shows how ridiculous their opinion of the Norman Empire is!" ”

Barras turned to Nikolai again: "Didn't your predecessors, the generals who had close ties with the Leibold family and fought in the last war, tell you that the Norman soldiers were the most chivalrous people on the battlefield?" Do they only remember the bravery and ferocity of the Norman soldiers, and forget our leniency for the wounded and prisoners of war of the Union Army? Let's not forget that in the wars of the past 100 years, less than 30% of the Norman army was captured, while the Federalist army had a survival rate of more than 50%! You should know exactly what these two numbers mean! ”

"Lies!" Nikolai retorted unceremoniously, "In the last war, only 32% of our captives survived, and most of your captives were repatriated after the war!" ”

In the face of Nikolai's rebuttal, Baras's expression became a little serious, and he quickly responded: "The figure you mentioned comes from a news report published in the Daily Liberty 20 years ago, with the headline 'The Sword of Civilization Defeats the Savage Spear'. According to that report, the Union Army had taken 348,000 prisoners during the war, and at the end of the war, only 112,000 survivors had been rescued from Norman prisoner of war camps, so the POW survival rate was 32%. Miss Leboyd, with your current military knowledge, do you still think these figures are reasonable? ”

Nikolai was speechless for a moment.

The Norman prince seems to have been transformed into a seeker and revealer of historical truths: "Let me tell you the truth...... In the last war, the Norman army captured a total of 798,000 federal officers and soldiers, including 19 generals, 281 colonels, and thousands of lieutenants and non-commissioned officers. The reason why only 112,000 people left the Norman army's prisoner of war camps at the end of the war was because in several major battles in the later part of the war, the Ulster-Wessex coalition captured 27 of our prisoner of war camps and prisoner of war labor camps by air raids and other means, and rescued nearly 300,000 captured federal soldiers in advance, plus those who fled on their own during the war and were released through the exchange of prisoners of war, the number of surviving federal soldiers should be about 475,000, and the survival rate is close to 60%. ”

After saying this, seeing Nikolai's face full of doubts, Baras's young and handsome face showed an expression of boredom and impatience for the first time, he tore off his napkin, frowned first and then spread: "What I said is recorded in the Norman army, if you think we deliberately falsified and distorted the facts, then I have nothing to say, after all, we have been retreating during that period, and it is unrealistic to leave more evidence." Anyway, I still want to thank you for coming tonight, although this temporary role is a little embarrassing and aggrieved, but the matter has come to this, you might as well put aside the gains and losses for the time being, and use this rare opportunity to see what the legendary evil empire is really like. Hopefully, the next time we see each other, the conversation will be even more pleasant than today. ”

Nikolai pulled off the napkin with a blank face, and when she got up, the attendant behind her pulled out the chair for her just right, without any unnecessary noise, and before leaving, Nikolai did not thank the host, but just glanced at the Baron alla Scala, and walked straight to the hatch.

Outside the door, the Norman officer escorting her was waiting with his head held high, and Nikolai walked coldly past him. The Norman officer hurriedly glanced inside the dining room and hurriedly followed.

The hatch closed again, and Ballas got up with a displeased face, ignoring the other two guests, and strode out, telling Alves, who was following him, "Let them go as soon as possible!" ”

"The list has been delivered, and if nothing else, we can leave tomorrow." Alves' response did not bring the lengthy and formal title of Prince Barras, which shows that the relationship between the two is extraordinary.

The banquet setter hurried away, leaving the two who had been left out to stand silently at the table, not embarrassed or embarrassed, just like their identities at this time......

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